- Modest gains in equities
- Crude futures slip lower
- US housing starts snap back

Dow Jones Industrials: 0.48%
Nasdaq Composite: 0.39%
S&P 500: 0.47%

US stocks advanced as reports showed inflation slowed slightly and housing starts rocketed.

Acting as a backdrop nevertheless some market commentary was highlighting concerns in some corners regarding the S&P 500's valuation.

US inflation climbed 2% year-on-year in July, in line with expectations, after rising 2.1% in June. Consumer prices increased 0.1% in July when compared to a month ago, as forecast, following a 0.3% increase. Excluding food and energy however prices rose 1.9% year-on-year and 0.1% month-on-month, the latter was a tenth of a percentage point less than expected by economists.

"The recent slowdown in the pace at which core consumer prices are rising eases some of the pressure on the [Federal Reserve] to start considering increasing interest rates, although only temporarily," said Capital Economics.

On Wednesday the Fed is due to release minutes from its 29-30 July policy meeting, which may provide further clues on the timing of the first rate hike.

Meanwhile, US housing starts jumped 15.7% in July after falling 4% a month before, surpassing analysts' estimates for an 8.1% gain.

Barclays Research said it viewed the data as "more evidence that the moderate recovery in housing activity is back on track after the disruption in recent months caused by higher mortgage rates and adverse winter weather".

Also providing a lift to global stocks was a cooling of tensions in Eastern Europe as both Ukraine and Russia seemed to be looking at ways to de-escalate the situation.

A 24-hour ceasefire between Palestine and Israel was broken after Hamas fired several rockets into the Mediterranean country.

Home Depot, Elizabeth Arden

Home Depot rallied after reporting second quarter earnings that topped analysts' estimates.

Elizabeth Arden slumped after saying fall in sales of celebrity fragrances was lower than expected in the fourth quarter.

Aeropostale edged higher after saying Julian Geiger has returned as chief executive.

From a sector standpoint the biggest advances were seen in the following industrial groups: home improvement retailers (4.95%), apparel retailers (3.75%) and home construction (2.83%).

Crude futures slide

The US 10-year yield was steady at 2.4%.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 1.72% to $94.75 per barrel on NYMEX.

S&P 500 - Risers
TJX Companies Inc. (TJX) $58.85 +9.17%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $88.71 +6.13%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $119.84 +5.11%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $38.37 +3.93%
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) $25.80 +3.64%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $38.90 +3.60%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $69.00 +3.57%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $46.21 +3.24%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $21.77 +3.03%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $472.44 +2.90%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Hospira Inc. (HSP) $54.07 -2.54%
Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE) $185.86 -2.18%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $54.97 -1.14%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $24.16 -0.90%
Ingersoll Rand Ltd. (IR) $61.62 -0.90%
American Tower Corp (Reit) (AMT) $98.92 -0.86%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $99.99 -0.84%
Dollar General Corp (DG) $63.60 -0.84%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $97.14 -0.84%
Wyndham Worldwide Corp. (WYN) $79.04 -0.80%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $88.71 +6.13%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $83.56 +1.49%
American Express Co. (AXP) $88.15 +1.14%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $127.45 +0.91%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $24.65 +0.90%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $57.56 +0.58%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $82.85 +0.50%
Boeing Co. (BA) $125.58 +0.48%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $74.85 +0.48%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $28.97 +0.43%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
AT&T Inc. (T) $34.46 -0.55%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $48.61 -0.35%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $174.08 -0.27%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $45.06 -0.11%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $92.90 -0.10%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $102.68 -0.02%

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